MBA Verbal Ability: Top 100 Vocabulary words to expect in the exam

Jan 24, 2020,
Nidhi Gupta

Preparing for the Verbal ability section seems quite doable when it comes to the MBA entrance exams. However, there are some section that often gets ignored due to other time consuming sections demanding more time and attention. While there is a huge target to study for the entrance exams such as CAT, XAT, CMAT and other MBA entrance exams, it happens that Vocabulary takes a back seat due to time constrains. Considering the complexity which goes into preparing for the exam and the time constraint faced by the MBA exam aspirants, we have compiled a list of 100 vocabulary words that will fast track your comprehension power.

We suggest that when language comprehension section is concerned, the best strategy to brush up your skills would be to review the Word list. It would help you keep a check on important vocabulary words. It will grease up your comprehension skills as you would be aware of high-level vocab. It is easy to read 100 vocabulary words on the go even when you have less time in hand and more to prepare for the exam.

Here are 100 most used vocabulary words asked in the MBA entrance exams. Take a look and solve the RCs in the exam speedily:

1. FactotumPronunciation: fak-toh-tuh mMeaning: An employee or official who has various different responsibilities to handleSynonyms: Retainer, Servant, workaholic, odd-job personUsage: She might appear as the perfect factotum; and indeed she was.

3. BrookPronunciation: broo kMeaning: A natural stream of water smaller than a riverSynonyms: beck, creek, streamlet, branch, river, watercourse, springUsage: This brook dried up every year in the summer

4. LiturgyPronunciation: lit-er-jeeMeaning: A form of public worship; ritual.Synonyms: observance, rite, sacrament, celebration, ceremonialUsage: People's faith is being choked out by the thorns of fabricated liturgy (Source: Church Militant)

8. Skullduggeryskuhl-duhg-uh-reeMeaning: an instance of dishonest or deceitful behavior; trick.Synonyms: crafty; trickery; chicanery; duplicity; guile; perfidy; falsehoodAntonyms: truthfulness; loyalty; trustworthiness; truthfulness; honestyUsage: The tax is high on years of expediency and governmental skullduggery in arming and feeding and giving harbour to such factions (Source: Firstpost)

13. LabyrinthinePronunciation: lab-uh-rin-thin, -theenMeaning: Resembling a labyrinth in form or complexitySynonyms: intricate, meandering, serpentine, twisting, winding, complex, mazyAntonyms: simple, straight, blunt, candid, apparent, clear, definite, even, explicitUsage: The sentences that once sang became so labyrinthine in complexity that the reader got lost in the maze. (Source: The Independent-28-Mar-2016)

22. VilifyPronunciation: vil-uh-fahyMeaning: Spread negative information aboutSynonyms: defame, malign, mistreat, jinx, slanderAntonyms: favour, glorify, laud, exalt, praiseUsage: The pair have since been vilified for their actions and have been accused of being "spiteful". (Source: Belfast Telegraph)

23. DesiccatePronunciation: des-i-keytsMeaning: Lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless; to dry thoroughlySynonyms: preserve, dehydrate, keep, divest, drainAntonyms: dampen, grow, moisten, expand, soakUsage: As an organic farmer, he couldn't use a chemical to desiccate the wheat, and it's highly unlikely the rabbi would have allowed it anyway. (source: ew York Times)

24. SmitheeensPronunciation: smith-uh-reenzMeaning: A collection of small fragments considered as a wholeSynonyms: chunk, atom, crumb, iota, fractionAntonyms: entire, total, lot, whole, completeUsage: Two main classrooms were "smashed to smithereens", with the school swimming pool caved in and tennis courts destroyed. (Source: Waikato Times)

25. WhimperPronunciation: hwim-per, wimMeaning: to cry with low, plaintive, broken soundsSynonyms: moan, weep, blubber, fuss, snivelAntonyms: bawl, bark, clamor, shriek, routUsage: The Broadcast Media Law ended with a whimper yesterday but there was still time for a last tussle in Congress (Source: Buenos Aires Herald)

26. enthrallPronunciation: en-thrawlMeaning: Hold spellboundSynonyms: beguile, bewitch, enchant, intrigue, rivetAntonyms: bore, disgust, incite, repel, liberateUsage: It was his oratory, imbedded with moral values of mankind, that did enthrall not only the senior students but also the primary class' kids (Source: E-Pao.net)

27. CatastrophicPronunciation: kat-uh-strof-ikMeaning: of the nature of a catastrophe, or disastrous eventSynonyms: calamitous, cataclysmic, disastrous, fatal, ruinous, tragicAntonyms: calamitous, cataclysmic, disastrous, fatal, ruinous, tragicUsage: A Latvian farm worker driving in Scotland for the first time killed a Perthshire father in a "catastrophic" collision (Source: BBC News)

30. Writhe Pronunciation: rahythMeaning: To twist the body, face, or limbs or as in pain or distress.Synonyms: wince, wiggle, agonize, distort, sufferAntonyms: straighten, uncoil, align, uncurl, unravelUsage: The prawns are seen wriggling and writhing on the skewers, which are placed on a plate on the table. (Source: The Sun)

33. VinciblePronunciation: vin-suh-buh lMeaning: Conquerable.Synonyms: conquerable, vulnerable, vanquishable, surmountable, indefensibleAntonyms: unconquerable, defendable, indomitable, invincible, insurmountableUsage: The core of the team also is the same as the one that proved all too vincible last year. (source: Sporting News)

34. VignettePronunciation: vin-yetMeaning: A picture having a background or that is shaded off gradually.Synonyms: sketch, picture, illustration, portrait, depictionAntonyms: original, real, camouflage, substantive, LandscapeUsage: Every Olympic closing ceremony features a small vignette made by the next host city to get people. (SOURCE: SB Nation)

35. VertigoPronunciation: vur-ti-gohMeaning: DizzinessSynonyms: giddiness, lightheadedness, abscess, wooziness, instabilityAntonyms: stability, penetration, gravity, clear-headed, languidUsage: He can be seen twirling at high speed at the very edge of the roof – which might make those suffering from vertigo want to look away. (Source: RT)

36. UsurpPronunciation: yoo-surp, -zurpMeaning: To take possession of by force.Synonyms: take over, seize, confiscate, expropriate, annexAntonyms: relinquish, surrender, accede, acquiesce, resignUsage: Opponents argue that such an approach would usurp states' rights and create an unneeded new layer of bureaucracy. (source: Baltimore Sun)

37. UndulatePronunciation: uhn-juh-leytMeaning: To move like a wave or in waves.Synonyms: roll, wave, ripple, swing, oscillateAntonyms: peaceful, smooth, serene, flat, stickUsage: The Krall swarm looks absolutely fantastic, the way the ships undulate and move like they are almost alive is wonderfully creepy. (Source: Redshirts Always Die)

38. TyrannyPronunciation: tir-uh-neeMeaning: Absolute power arbitrarily or unjustly administrated.Synonyms: despotism, dictatorship, autocracy, monocracy, autarchyAntonyms: democracy, republic, liberty, autonomy, compassionUsage: Majoritarian governments were often thought of as being characterised by the tyranny of the numbers (Source:Kathmandu Post)

54. GenialityPronunciation: jeen-yuh li-teeMeaning: Warmth and kindliness of dispositionSynonyms: cordiality, amiability, affability, bonhomie, benevolenceAntonyms: discourtesy, grumpiness, incivility, aloofness, asperityUsage: But while his geniality and ability both seem nearly endless, the Met and Mr. Nézet-Séguin would do well (Source: New York Times)

73. TORPORPronunciation: tawr-perMeaning: Inactivity resulting from lethargy and lack of vigor or energySynonyms: languor, inertia, sloth, lassitude, stuporAntonyms: vibrancy, vigor, animation, liveliness, dynamismUsage: After the torpor of Van Gaal anybody – or any style of football – is likely to be more enjoyable (Source: The Guardian)

74. AGGRANDIZEPronunciation: uh-gran-dahyzMeaning: Make appear better or greater (in power, wealth, quality, etc.) than realitySynonyms: magnify, extend, expand, amplify, augmentAntonyms: degrade, lower, debase, abate, diminishUsage: Not only do we aggrandize entrepreneurs who simply look and act the part and claim moral outrage when they fail to deliver the goods (Source: Fortune)

75. ANTEDILUVIANPronunciation: an-tee-di-loo-vee-uh nMeaning: Of or relating to the period before the biblical floodSynonyms: ancient, antiquated, archaic, primitive, primordialAntonyms: contemporary, modernistic, modern, up-to-date, present-dayUsage: His Antediluvian Tea was basically a laxative dressed up in a teabag. (Source: Boing Boing)

79. CANARDPronunciation: kuh-nahrdMeaning: A deliberately misleading fabricationSynonyms: rumor, fabrication, falsity, hoax, bruitAntonyms: verity, reality, actuality, veracity, authenticityUsage: The canard upon which he based his campaign was that Jews were planning to destroy or take over Muslim holy sites. (Source: Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America)

80. COMPENDIUMPronunciation: kuh m-pen-dee-uh mMeaning: A concise but comprehensive summary of a larger workSynonyms: summary, epitome, abridgment, abstract, précisAntonyms: broadening, salubrious, elongate, extension, expositionUsage: That should not occlude the fact the Olympics is a compendium of everything that is awful about sports. (Source: The Big Lead)

81. DENOUEMENTPronunciation: dey-noo-mahnMeaning: The outcome of a complex sequence of eventsSynonyms: conclusion, outcome, solution, consummation, culminationAntonyms: success, embark, actuate, advent, commenceUsage: Staving off several break points as he served for the title in a denouement he described as "the hardest game of life" (Source: The New Indian Express)

86. GOSSAMERPronunciation: gos-uh-merMeaning: Characterized by unusual lightness and delicacySynonyms: diaphanous, sheer, delicate, flimsy, etherealAntonyms: coarse, massive, ponderous, rugged, anaerobicUsage: If you don't know the deft and gossamer music of Bryn Harrison, this album would be a beautiful place to start. (Source: The Guardian)

89. INCHOATEPronunciation: in-koh-itMeaning: Only partly in existence; imperfectly formedSynonyms: incipient, embryonic, rudimentary, amorphous, inceptiveAntonyms: developed, advanced, abounding, acatalectic, admirableUsage: An idea, however inchoate, is in the air in Hanoi - and the government would very much like to see the concept grow. (Source: Huffington Post)

90. INSIPIDPronunciation: in-sip-idMeaning: Lacking taste, flavor or tangSynonyms: vapid, tedious, prosaic, jejune, banalAntonyms: delicious, poignant, savory, piquant, palatableUsage: In one of the most insipid Liberal campaigns since John Hewson's Fightback, a double dissolution election was called over union corruption. (Source: The Australian)

91. IRRESOLUTEPronunciation: ih-rez-uh-lootMeaning: Uncertain how to act or proceedSynonyms: vacillating, uncertain, indecisive, indefinite, unsteadyAntonyms: vacillating, uncertain, indecisive, indefinite, unsteadyUsage: But a U.S. president threatening nations that don't comply doesn't advance U.S. interests; it makes us seem bullying and irresolute (Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune)

92. JUGGERNAUTPronunciation: juhg-er-nawtMeaning: A massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its waySynonyms: steamroller, barrage, cavalcade, monster, blitzAntonyms: surrender, subjugate, withstand, succumb, acquiesceUsage: WASPS back row juggernaut Nathan Hughes has been called up to train with England this week for the first time. (Source: Express.co.uk)

97. PATOISPronunciation: pah-twahMeaning: A characteristic language of a particular groupSynonyms: argot, dialect, jargon, lingo, vernacularAntonyms: standard, literary, colloquial, customary, conventionalUsage: In local patois, bangla refers to country liquor, a fact that has caused much mirth on social media. (Source: The Quint)

99. PUISSANTPronunciation: pyoo-uh-suh ntMeaning: PowerfulSynonyms: potent, mighty, vigorous, strong, energeticAntonyms: impotent, helpless, convivial, feeble, impuissantUsage: France had suddenly grown to her full stature; like the contemporary England of John Milton, she was become a " noble and puissant nation, rousing herself like a strong man after sleep. (Source: yourdictionary.com)

100. QUALMPronunciation: kwahmMeaning: Uneasiness about the fitness of an actionSynonyms: misgiving, scruple, uncertainty, demur, queasinessAntonyms: confidence, certitude, assuredness, brashness, constancyUsage: The poison is killing them but they are willing to swallow it without a slight qualm (Source: Eastern Mirror)

A thorough revision of these 100 vocabulary words for MBA Exams will speed your final preparation for MBA Entrance exams. If you find this wordlist useful, share it with your friends preparing for the MBA Exams to help them enhance vocabulary.